Becoming Star Butterfly
by Adelost
Summary: AU. "Star Butterfly talks like a horse." Earth broke Star Butterfly, who develops hunger for change. With a bottle of nail varnish, Star's exit'll be something everyone'll remember - until her mother and Ludo get involved. Will Star finally be honest? *Starco slowly developing.* Emphasis on slowly.
1. Prologue & Preview

**A/N: Star may be kinda sorta… eh… ooc in this chapter. Same goes for Marco. It's an AU for a reason though.**

As always, suddenly, Star was unhappy. She looked at her hair, her blue eyes, and thought about what they had said about her – their words pierced her through and through.

_"Star Butterfly talks like a horse."_

_"I'd never be friends with her."_

_"Star Butterfly is a loser."_

_"She's liked and admired by nobody."_

She couldn't even look at her own body in the mirror without the words whispering in her ear, forcing her to remain stationary, and _cutcutcut_. No, instead, she had to worry about what to wear tomorrow, sit by herself to eat lunch…

But as she held up the bottle of pills and closed her eyes, she could remember Mewni vividly: its colour, the gorgeous silks and furs of the palace she had lived in… compared to what she had today in her lank room, missing the excitement of her wild unicorn, or…

She'd done it again, acting _weird_. A word she'd heard too often – if she ever tried to express her thoughts in English over creative writing, she had to see the counsellor or 'talk separately' with the teacher.

Star instantly stopped dwelling on these negative thoughts, and tried to think of her plan.

Her life on Earth seemed to come to a stop as she poured all the pills into a paper bag, leaving the container empty and lying on her bed, to the left, turned towards the centre.

She wouldn't come back to Mewni.

Their words were louder in her ears as she cradled her wand, only to create a double of herself. She sat on the bed and looked at herself for a second, hearing the sound of the clock, running her hands down the cheek of her double.

Two minutes passed, and Star was still hopelessly dithering. Her eyes glassily focussed on the clock, but it was no use.

Calmly, she took the hand of her double and, struggling to hold her tears, she continued to cry as she painted the nails then eased off the shoe.

She began to paint the toenails, and decided to let it smudge, placing one finger in her mouth, and the nail varnish was quickly put away. Star finished off herself by curling a strand of hair with that finger, dressing her hair up as well as she could.

Then Star reached for her window, opening it, and allowed the curtain to flap, and the wind to blow until her room became colder, to the point where she had to practically pin her shawl to her head. It was worth it though.

Her hair was hidden, and she kept her head low, conscious she'd left the window open.

She chanted another spell, which allowed her to float to the front of the house, and there was no longer a trace of her even being there. Star was _literally _gone with the wind.

**xxx**

"Star?" Marco asked, opening the door, only to find Star lying in her bed peacefully, arms folded and her wand lying next to her slightly tilted head.

He smiled, under the assumption she was sleeping, carefully moving his hand to avoid suffocating Star or crushing her nose under its weight, tapping her as gently as he could manage on her head.

He had taken extra care not to touch her temple.

"Star? It's time for dinner. I might make you nachos after, too."

Star didn't wake up, of course. That was when he felt confused, and then sick, as a pain shot up through his leg, weakening them – he realised there was an empty packet of pills next to Star's body.

She was dead. His knees twisted behind him, and he seemed to accelerate in the air for a second, before plummeting to the ground on his knees, hearing angels sing in his ears – they tugged at her soul, until Star screamed, forced away from her own body.

Her screams were louder, and there was a horrible ripping sound, the angels floating and disappearing into the air with her soul cradled in their hands. Star's mouth slowly shut, and her eyes flickered for a second, then her body stopped.

Her chest dropped, her eyes closed, her brain refused to function – she simply lay there with a sweet smile on her face.

He screamed in anguish over her body, unsure of what could've driven her to such limits. The anguish flowing through him wasn't enough, tears were streaming down his face, and his hands rested on her forehead.

She'd always been happy, but it was a mask – something she hid her sadness under.

Marco lifted her arm from the duvet, and saw a few marks up her arm – either from the bully, or from herself. Blood was covering her arm, but it was dry, which sickened him – this had been going on for a while – one of the cuts was beginning to heal.

It never would.

His reputation had never been worth it – instead, he was beginning to wish he'd never ignored her – he saw her eat lunch on her own, yet she had always… always…

Walked with a group of girls. That had convinced him she was settling in, she had friends.

No, _behind_ a group of girls.

He had never been observant enough.

And he was paying the full price for it. He couldn't bring himself to call his parents.

Instead, he kept his hand clasped to hers, and sobbed over her body – it was the perfect two, her body cold and numb, his hands warm and clammy.

He lay wordlessly on the bed, Star's corpse turned in his direction – the two lay there, practically entwined in the duvet, their noses touching, and both their eyes closed.

Only one of them was sleeping.

**A/N: Sorry for the duplication! It was a glitch. :)**


	2. Investigating

**A/N: There've been no updates for a while, sorry. It's because my computer charger broke. I'll probably be able to update more now I've gotten a new charger.**

**Earth, 4:07pm**

Stood outside a shop window, Star hopped from foot to foot – she was unsure what to do with her new reflection – her eyes had a greener tint to them, and her hair was a dark waterfall flowing past her hips.

She'd either get a new house, she thought to herself, as she ran a finger down her wand.

Or perhaps she'd be forced to stay outside – not that she minded. Her thoughts drifted back to the shops, mannequins poised into their forced positions.

Their clothes were the best ones she'd seen – she was unsure whether to buy her popularity, or to earn it. Buying seemed much easier to her, and she'd always been… well… maybe fairly popular on Mewni.

_Tolerable_, most had said. Perhaps because she was rich.

Usually, she tried not to think about that. The shopkeeper inside was clearly frustrated with her, but Star wanted to just look in a mirror – so she ended up walking in, deciding to stop pretending to window shop.

As soon as she walked in, she nodded in the most confident way possible at the shopkeeper, who avoided eye contact, and reconnected their gaze to the magazine they were holding – only Star could suss out the small twitching of their lips.

A smile? A nervous twitch?

She pretended to reach for a dress – the most bizarre thing she'd seen on Earth, pointy as if it were made from party hats – and vanished into the changing room.

It was leopard skin, and tightly clung to her body – she knew she wouldn't buy it under any circumstances.

Looking in the mirror, she began to speak aloud, but quietly, in a hushed tone to vary from her bubbly tone – it was hard to control herself.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Ruby." Her voice was squeaky, and sounded rather peculiar, so she tried again.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Ruby." Now she sounded more normal. Nothing like her old self.

She couldn't help but giggle in the giddiest way possible.

After regaining her composure, she left the changing room and hastily placed the outfit back onto the rack, and then decided to look for something 'nice' to wear. She was unsure what to look for, but as she strode up and down the racks, she noticed a pair of jeans, and a green shirt.

"Hmm." She quietly said to herself, snatching them from the rack, before disappearing in a few seconds, in the directions of the fitting rooms.

**xxx  
Mewni, 2:03pm**

The queen was still slightly puzzled over her daughter – she'd not heard from her at all for days, apart from how her daughter said she was feeling 'slightly unhappy.' Unhappiness was something that most likely could endanger her training on Earth.

Something that Ludo would jump at the chance to manipulate – and she had remembered what she'd done, and _why_. There was no point of turning back on it – but she couldn't go to Earth again. She had to send someone else.

Now, she turned to the man stood towering over her – not her husband, but rather, someone more… something.

A quality she couldn't quite deem over his shadowy figure, cloaked by his pale blue cape – she'd done her hair up especially for the event – she couldn't have done her makeup more perfectly – yet still, he seemed uninterested.

"Let's cut to the chase," He says, looking directly at her, "you want to know how your daughter is."  
She paused, trying to gather her thoughts – it wasn't what her daughter was doing – but rather what _Ludo_ was doing.

Not even considering how rude he sounded, she continued dwelling on his words.

"Not exactly – she's surely safe on Earth, but the trouble caused on Mewni," she dramatically tossed her head back, throwing a quick look out of the window, " the last time she had the wand… she couldn't quite handle the power, so to speak."

"No?" He asks, a smile flickering onto his face – she smiled back, careful to hold her smile so that it looked genuine.

"No, Ludo. Ludo is definitely a problem."  
"Kill…?"  
Now she was puzzled by the crossroads – she had always cared for her daughter, but as she thought of the frivolous acts she'd most likely be participating in, her response was one to be desired.

"Watch. Observe."

But the instructions were too unclear for the person to comprehend – watch and observe so he could… kill?

"Watch and observe…?"  
Ludo could be a threat, she had to remind herself – and he was one of the few threats that Star could face – the queen continued puzzling over the problem, her mind peering into every nook and cranny of her plan.

"I've heard she's rather unhappy. Perhaps that'd weaken her wand – she needs someone who could… protect her."

His face twisted into a mask of confusion. "What do you want me to do, then? Observe Ludo and the other villains, or protect her?"

She was heavily conscious that unfortunately, she couldn't have the best of both worlds – and was mentally weighing her options. She had no idea what she should do, or the consequences – Earth was a rather confusing concept.

"I've little idea of her power on Earth," she began, avoiding his question, "but I think you could do both."

"Both." He echoed. "Why?"  
"It's irrelevant why. Why else should I feel a need to protect my daughter?" She was on the verge of scowling, her arms folded over her chest.

He nodded slowly. "And if Ludo threatens her life, do I kill…? Or perhaps he threatens another… Earth… thing… thing's life? Does he die then, also?"

"Follow my orders." She told him, unfolding her arms as she walked to the window, before closing it with a small scraping sound.

"You've your own pair of dimensional scissors, yes?" He asks.

"You have your own. Such information won't be disclosed."

He nodded once more, "I'll show myself out."

"I thank you for your time, Mr Leon."

As he walked out of the door, the queen's eyes drifted to the family portrait – covered in tears, rips and stains – and a small smile appeared on her face. Star had never quite been the princess she'd dreamt of, but at the end of the day, she was still her daughter.

**xxx**

**Ludo's Lair, 4:07pm (Earth Time)**

Still thinking over the previous time he'd met Star, he came to his conclusion – he needed to strike by himself – and he simply couldn't do it himself.

From what he'd watched, Star had made a very big mistake – she'd lost the one guard she could possibly have – now she would be _alone_. Much to his amusement.

And the girl prided herself on being so clever, he thought, still chuckling. He'd always considered his other minions to be fairly dim-witted, so they simply wouldn't suit the job.

"Buff Frog," He called out, in his ever scornful voice, "I want you to spy on the new person the Queen of Mewni dispatched to protect her daughter."

"Yes, Ludo," he says, reaching for his dimensional scissors.

"Wait – listen to me, _you incompetent little,_" He murmured the last few words in anger, "I want you to manipulate him. Star's been feeling rather under the weather, as has the original host family she had."

"Meaning…?" Buff Frog was puzzled.  
"Meaning, make him think that feeding off the girl's sadness is a _good_ idea."

Buff Frog still looked slightly confused, but nodded, pulling out his dimensional scissors. Ludo sighed to himself at his incompetence, watching Buff Frog cut into thin air.

The sound of slicing was ever apparent, as he stood in front of the portal he had cut open.

"Uh… name… of… the person I'm looking for?"

Ludo suddenly looked up at him, twiddling his thumbs still. "Name?" He screeched. "I've sent you to destroy a girl and bring back her wand, and you want the name of her protector?" His voice was harder and thicker in every way possible – Ludo was furious.

His rage dam was beginning to crack, leading Ludo into an uncontrollable fit of rage – he began screaming at Buff Frog, who simply blinked at him – even as he finished, and his throat was dry, Buff Frog _still_ wanted the name.

"The man will be hanging around Star – _that's_ how you'll find him. You don't _need_ his name. Now, get out of my sight."

With that, Buff Frog made a salute for a few seconds, before vanishing in a whirl of colour into the portal.

"Honestly, that imbecile," Ludo couldn't help but think aloud, "is going to be the death of me."

**Xxx**

**Earth, 8:44 am**

Cheeks reddened with excitement, Star stood in front of the entire class – it had been easy enough to understand what to say to them, and everyone seemed to be gesturing her to sit next to them.

The teacher, sat at the desk, glanced strangely at her, as she skipped towards Marco's desk.  
"I'd like to sit _here_, if you please." She says, scraping the chair back and falling into it – Marco looked up at her from his pen, mid-sentence.

He didn't even try to warn her to be careful she didn't catch herself on the table – he gave a grunt of disinterest, and looked back down at his paper.

Poetry, they'd said, would make him feel better. But poetry was doing little for him.

A strange feeling overcame both of them, who connected their gazes for a few seconds – an invisible force seemed to be binding the two's thoughts – until they disappeared into sadness.

Buff Frog, stood outside the window from a distance, observed the man, who seemed to be quietly speaking under his breath.

From inside, the scene seemed to be going wrong – Marco looked slightly more pleased – as his negative energy was quickly swapped for positive – but something seemed to be blocking Star's.

She sighed sadly, looking away from Marco, who seemed to be on alert.

"Odd." Mr Leon said to himself, unaware of Buff Frog behind him, "something bad happened. Something _very_ bad." He contemplated telling the queen, or solving the problem himself.

Buff Frog quietly noted the man's weaknesses. He was trying to make her _happy_. And Ludo most likely knew why.

How could her happiness make her more powerful without a guardian? He couldn't help but wonder to himself.

Was there something Ludo wasn't telling him?

**A/N: Phew. I extended the chapter (originally it was like 500 words) but now, I guess BSB isn't a oneshot, but multichapter. PM me if you have any requests for stories.**

**~Adelost**


	3. Accepting Failure

**A/N: Thank you for your reviews! I'm happy people like the story. From this chapter, I'll start including a small amount of Starco. Also, if you don't remember, Star's name is Ruby now.**

Marco's response to the vibes Mr Leon was sending, seemed perfect for him – but Star still remained unaffected. He actually started speaking to the people he'd once blamed for the death of Star, but as Mr Leon read his thoughts, he realised Marco had been feeling more depressed over Star.

Now, he glanced at the girl sat next to him, her head resting in her hands – he could tell by the wand she'd logically tucked into her belt, that she was _the_ Star Butterfly he was looking for – he pondered over her coming back, even though Marco's thoughts implied she was gone.

Perhaps the Queen of Mewni had resurrected her – he had little clue over what was going on with her. Was the girl dead or not?  
It dawned on him that her death was fake, after a few seconds – there was no way she could resurrect her, without her magic – which the girl had in the form of the wand.

He still failed to notice Buff Frog, moving away from the school, and rather started following the trails that he thought were left by dimensional scissors, curious.  
Someone else was on Earth from another dimension.

And he was determined to find them.

**Xxx**  
He was looking down at the test papers he'd gotten from the last lesson – and discovered that he'd done fairly well. But it didn't soothe his train of thought, as Ruby next to him simply wouldn't be quiet. He could tell she was being nice, and found he appreciated it.

"Marco," she hissed, whilst the teacher's back was turned, writing on the board, "the way she teaches is confusing. So if I do _this_, would it make this? And then would this be the right answer?"

Someone was actually speaking to him, much to his surprise – his mind flashed to Star, who also talked… a lot. "Yeah. Because half of that is that, so you divide it by ten and times it by six."

She smiled genuinely at him, writing the method down in red on her test paper. "Thanks. You know, you're really smart."

_Compliment._ She thought – she'd noticed that he seemed slightly unhappy.  
"Oh. Thanks." He said fairly dryly, but she could tell that her compliment was well-received by him, as his eyes twinkled in delight, the twinkle only resting in his eyes for seconds.

"So… can I sit with you at lunch?" She hesitated halfway through her words, but found a confidence spring up within her, along with a strange feeling in her chest. He suddenly looked up, blinking at her in surprise.

Marco had quickly found himself just detaching from his class – the label 'Safe Kid' was ever apparent, and people jeered in the corridors, teachers sighed and shook their heads, and his reports repeatedly suggested he could talk more.

He sat alone at lunch, hunched over his food, barely eating, breathing or thinking – all he could do was write poetry, the poetry he was hiding from Ruby, despite her good intentions – and a feeling of relief flooded his chest.

"Yeah." He said, after a few minutes.

Star was puzzled by the time it had taken for him to respond, but her lips stayed in a straight line, as she watched him pack away his things, sweeping them into his bag with a quick movement of his hand.

As he swept more things in, a page fluttered to the floor, which Star quickly bent down to inspect, her gaze narrowing – for a second, she was going to pick it up and hand it to Marco. But dishonesty was a strange thing, her eyes glowing curiously; she quickly pushed it into her bag.

Then the bell sounded, and Marco seemed to shuffle out of class at the speed of a zombie, whereas Star ran towards the door, her bag hanging limply from her back, and jiggling with all its weight.

**Xxx**

They both sat in silence for a few minutes – Star struggled to stomach the watery pasta on her plate, simply forcing it to points A and B, and across her entire plate.

Marco was nibbling on his food, his tongue slipping out his mouth to simply engulf the entire piece of food – he just didn't feel hungry.

Star finally chose to speak, a smile on her face. "I heard that there's a surprise test in French, next period."

"Ah. C'est nul." Marco said, a smile flicking onto his face slowly – lighting up his eyes after a few seconds.

"Nul? J'aime le français." Star giggled, flicking some of her brown hair out of her eyes, revealing the green in them.

They continued their conversation in French, and Marco felt something beam within him as Star managed to force down another forkful of pasta.

A shadowy figure was stood behind him, beaming an almost happy aura by simply existing – which seemed to be floating by Marco – Mr Leon was back, and he had found Buff Frog's lair. It would be something he'd explore after helping the poor boy.

Since Star was a challenge, he'd need to collect more magic from Mewni on his return for more power – the girl kept blocking his signal, despite how much he vibrated and sent signals at the process of 500 per minute.

She simply was ignoring him, much to his annoyance – but it would be fine. He'd crack her eventually.

A feeling of happiness overcame Marco, whose lips twitched until he was finally smiling – not smirking in a malicious way, but smiling at her genuinely – he _liked_ someone. Someone who reminded him of Star, someone who reminded him that people didn't last forever.

And Ruby was a perfect example – they'd go to different universities, or she might move – he couldn't quite believe Star had suddenly taken the magic out of his life, and the danger – a secondary thought.

But there was another thing Star had left with, much to his sadness. But Ruby would fix it, because that was what she was here to do. A hole in his heart, there was nobody else to consider a sibling, his equivalent.

"Marco…?" She suddenly asks, blinking.  
"Huh…?" He suddenly looks up.  
"I asked you which colour you like more," she said, waving her hands in gestures, "blue or green?"

"Green," he answered, nodding to himself, "definitely green."

**Xxx  
Ludo's Lair, 1:03pm (Earth Time)**

Ludo was fuming, as usual – not with Buff Frog, but rather, Mr Leon. He simply wasn't buying it – he'd followed it, yet he hadn't responded – he could enlist more minions – but he simply needed Mr Leon's balance between positive and negative energy.

No more, no less. Now, if he was refusing to follow the trail, or take the bait, he'd have to _make_ him realise he was dealing with high quality evil.

"Go to Mewni," he barked at Buff Frog, who had simply hovered by the table in the corner, and was now glancing up at him, confusion swirling in his eyes.

"Mewni… where…?"  
"The Mewni well. I want you to take some magic, and give it to the rest of my minions…" Ludo had his hand on what was supposed to be his chin, extending his fingers all the way to the tip of his nose, past the lips.

"Then I'd like you to go back to Earth, and _fight_ Star Butterfly. Don't destroy her – we'll need her later if we want to win." Ludo finished, his thoughts finally organised in a logical order.

Buff Frog formed the salute, before snipping into the air, and stepping into a portal he had cut out – it was a neatly cut shape, a rectangular thing to fit in his entire body.

"Perfect," Ludo couldn't help but say aloud, an evil grin slowly stretching across his face, "absolutely perfect."


	4. Meddling

The day was young, and Star stood outside, simply admiring the setting sun. Marco had offered to walk her home, much to her happiness – and she was beginning to love her new life – but still a guilt strangled her from inside.

Her classmates liked her, too. They liked _Ruby_, not Star. And there were problems with her new identity – if she was Ruby, then what would happen if Ludo…? She tried to brush the thoughts out of her mind by fixing her eyes on the sunset, but it pierced her thoughts further.

He'd come – and she only had two choices. Tell the truth to Marco… or let him die. That was something she was sure she wasn't heartless enough to let happen, but sometimes…

Was her popularity even worth it?

Her thoughts drifted once more, as she tried to reflect on something she loved – instead of her bitter memories.

**Xxx  
Mewni Well, Mewni  
**Mr Leon whisked around the well, finding that it had dried – since there appeared to be little magic remaining in it.

The queen had suggested she would take some to protect her daughter, but how likely was it that she would remember? Life on Mewni was busy enough, without the stress of a daughter – in his opinion, perhaps the girl belonged in St Olga's.

Nothing was really happening in Mewni – people quietly walked past, children singing and shouting, playing games, and their parents idle chatter the loudest sound of all – but something was wrong. He hadn't taken the bait last time, but something was _very _wrong.

Dirt was on the sides of the well, caking just a fraction of it – still, something seemed… off about it. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but ran his finger around the sides, until some of the grunge came off onto his finger.

Blinking, he identified it as the dust of evil – it was quite simple – Ludo or a minion had been around. Now, he had to do something – this was a serious threat. Either they had taken the magic, hence the well being so empty, or they intended to move it.

He simply didn't know how to define it – but there was a security flaw he had to address. He hadn't quite realised how much danger Star could potentially be in – and this was the perfect situation for it, too.

The well had been dried, meaning he had to protect Mewni – but how could he guard the girl as well?

Trying not to feel too much guilt over the girl, he mentally prayed that she would be capable of handling herself, before racing in the direction of the palace, dodging and ducking around sharp corners, stalls, and civillians.

The place wouldn't last long, otherwise.

**Xxx  
Ludo's Lair  
**Ludo hunched in his chair, fingers pressed together with enough pressure to crack them – he turned to look at Buff Frog, who simply stood there wordlessly.

"The well," he began, his voice scratchy, so he coughed and attempted to clear his throat, "has it been dried?"

"Yes, sir. I distributed the magic as you told me to. The girl is also alone, currently… perhaps this would be the perfect time to strike?" He suggests.

"No. It wouldn't, you fool," he said, pausing to think of what the consequences could be, "because… that simply doesn't work. It needs to be _in front_ of others."

"Why?"  
"Don't you realise? She's trying to be someone else," Ludo nearly grinned at the idea, "and we all know you can't change who you are."

That couldn't possibly be why Ludo despised her so much – if he wanted his hands on the wand, then surely, he would ask him to kill the girl while she was alone, Buff Frog puzzled, trying to work it out.

"Are you blackmailing the king and queen?" He suddenly asks aloud.

Ludo looked astounded, but then a smile flickered across his face. "Not yet. But you've given me such an idea…"

"Firstly, start with attacking her on _Earth_. Make your attack brief, but long enough to give her a warning – and make sure you do it around that pesky boy. If he finds out she's been lying…"

Buff Frog was finally beginning to understand what was going on. "And Mr Beam Happiness? What do we do about him?"

"He'll be forced to tell the king and queen about the well being dry, buying us a bit of time. He's no threat anymore. We'll deal with him later."

**Xxx  
Earth (1 day later.)**

Star said nothing – instead, she continued glancing at the posters for the Fayre. She had never heard of them before, and was genuinely curious – the teachers had suggested that they spent one of the 'Student Support' lessons decorating and bringing in things for it.

So she decided to bring in a box of sweet treats… maybe not from Mewni, no matter how good they tasted. But rather, from various shops – like everyone else. There was almost a buzz around the room from the interest in the Fayre, and each person had brought their own little offering.

She was terrible at making the paper coils, but at least she would make the night unforgettable.

Literally.

Coiling two pieces of paper together, Star frowned as she accidentally tore both of them, creating a hideous divide between the two. "Whoops." She tossed the pieces of paper into the bin effortlessly, and bent, peering into the bin – where half of the paper drawer ended up.

Other students walked by in the room, chattering and talking quietly in their own conversations – none of them realising how much Star was struggling with the paper.

Marco eventually sidled up to her, and laughed at the pathetic paper coil that could barely hold its own weight on her table.

"What?" She asked, picking up the coil of paper – it was the first and only – piece she had actually done correctly, much to her frustration.

Sure, it was slightly lumpy on one side and the sides weren't quite even… but they weren't ridiculously hideous either.

"To make things easier, you can just do this." He says, showing her a quick demonstration. Colour burnt her cheeks, as he managed to curl the paper around each other until it made a gorgeous decoration, sat on the table next to her lumpy one.

"Uh… like this?" She asks, struggling with the pieces of paper in her hand – seconds later, she had her hands trapped in the paper, wrapped around her arms.

Marco laughed heartily, as did Star, and had to help her untangle her arms – though Star had sort of done it intentionally, she genuinely smiled back at him.

For a few seconds, they were both gripping each other's hands, until Marco let her wrists limply fall to her sides, having untied her – but the redness in his cheeks (or so it seemed) was ever so clear.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly. "These look awesome. Why didn't they put you in charge of making the… uh… paper decorations?"

"I'm the only one who's trusted to operate the glue gun."

She smiled a little bit. "And how many overalls, pairs of gloves and aprons do you wear?"

"Only three pairs of gloves, two aprons, and just one overall."

"Wild." She comments, fiddling with the paper coils once more – only to create a fairly accurate mimic of Marco's other one, which sadly still looked superior to hers in every way. Something about that simply didn't upset her.

She put down the one she had finished making, as Marco disappeared to continue using the glue gun, and sighed contently as she eyed the handiwork – it was amazing, surely, with Marco's in the centre.

The night would be perfect.

**Xxx  
Mewni Palace, Mewni**

Her hair and makeup were perfectly done – she'd carefully made herself look even more feminine with longer eyelashes, and the worry lines she'd received from dwelling on Star were concealed under a few layers of makeup.

Sat quietly in a chair, she peacefully retained herself and nodded slowly at each problem being brought up.

"The well was empty…" He continued, and she nodded once more, sipping gently at her tea – he'd ignored her invitation to sit down, which she had shown little sign of being offended by – and simply was not.

"I understand. What did you find in… or at the well, giving you the idea that… well… other dimensions have been present?"

"Grey dust," he mentioned, describing the thing he had seen at the well, "it was a very dull colour, and I intend not to boast, but I've been trained long enough in travelling throughout dimensions that… well, this definitely belongs to the Other Side."

"Ah, yes. You've informed me of your excellent training. The well is dry, you tell me – and my daughter is alone, with a wand slowly losing its magic."

She paused once more, a small smile forming on her face, as the speech came together in her mind, she sipped for a dramatic pause.

"So what exactly are you doing here, warning me about my daughter's risk? Did I or did I not instruct you to be her guardian?"

His thoughts clouded – why _was_ he…? Then it occurred to him – they had tricked him into immediately warning the others in Mewni, to buy them time. And now Star was most certainly in danger.

There were two troubles that he was struggling to balance.

"But… surely, I'll risk exposing Mewni's magic on Earth? A-and the girl clearly…"

"If you wish to protect my daughter," her tone was much more stern, and her arms were folded neatly over her chest, "then it is a risk we must take."

**A/N: Yes, there ****_will_**** be more Starco in the next chapter (the Fayre.) By the way, the Mewni Well is not canon – I made it up to introduce some sort of limit (otherwise Star's wand is virtually OP.)  
R &amp; R!**

**~Adelost**


	5. Liars (Part 1)

**Mewni**

Things were no longer going right for the queen. Instead, she had her daughter to worry about – her husband wasn't communicating with her after she had suggested Saint O's.

It was a good idea, surely – it would keep her safe, and she would be surrounded by people she didn't have to hide her identity from. It was perfect for her, she was convinced.

But he disagreed heavily with her suggestion.

Curling her hair in her fingers, she paused, wondering if she should take some dimensional scissors – but it simply seemed impossible to find her daughter on time. What if she ended up in the wrong country on Earth?

What if she landed in water? She could die, and it was a risk that would hurt her daughter more than herself. Her family would hurt too. She couldn't do it.

Instead, Mr Leon had to do everything for her. Something she was used to as a queen, a familiar thing – but a pang was inside her. _He_ was helping her daughter, being the maternal one. Not her.

Jealousy. That was it – she was jealous of the person she hired. She was trying to think of a way to control it, yet… something had her.

Something was controlling her, as she found herself travelling to the Mewni well.

**Xxx  
Earth  
**The Fayre was in full swing, with chattering above the sound of everything, and the lights blinking in the hall. Star was draping the 'paper decorations' around the Lucky Dip stall with Marco.

She paused for a minute, slipping her hand ever so slightly to touch Marco's, who pulled away after a few seconds of their hands touching.

They glanced at each other for a while, and for a minute shyly smiled at each other.

"These are nice. Did you make them in your spare time?" He asked, smiling up at her.

"Yeah. But I wouldn't have done it without you helping me," she cooed, sharing his smile.

"We're-" He suddenly paused, trying to think. A good team? Something filled his eyes briefly, as he thought about Star's… abilities.

Star had tucked her wand away, but could feel it vibrating underneath her belt, and started to panic mentally. Ludo had been locked away, her mother had reassured her. She said nothing, but gently slapped her belt.

Suddenly, there was a crash, and Star could hear people screaming over the sound of teachers trying to calm them down. But it was pointless, as the ceiling collapsed to the floor, nearly crushing a handful of students.

Another piece of debris fell to Earth, crushing the legs of a student, whose groans of pain were drowned out by the others of students.

Ludo was _hurting_ them. Tears streamed down Star's face, as she realised what she had to do – give up her identity as Ruby.

She was making her way through the debris, dodging and ducking as chunks of ceiling gave way, tumbling down, just as the floor began to rip itself apart.

Wood was littering the floor, and Marco was aware of the students being led out of the hall – only to see Ruby walking towards the glittering mess, sparkling in front of her.

He was curious, but carefully considering the consequences. He decided to ditch his 'Safe Kid' label, and chased Ruby through the debris, struggling to move his legs – it was as if he was detached from his body.

Something froze him in horror – as he saw what was really going on. Ruby had Star's wand – now he had two conclusions.

But he was cold and numb all over – how could Ruby…? Was she a villain?

His eyes were widening out of his head, and he slowly sank to the ground, also crying in anguish – he felt weak, and his lips were dry – it didn't matter, as there was nothing he could or would say to her.

He could see Ludo slowly stalking towards her, before there was a strike of light – and Star fell back at his feet, groaning in pain, as she suddenly looked up, her cheeks flushing red, and in a frenetic fashion, back at Ludo.

She needed his help – but he found he was stuck in place, unable to even reach for her hands to pull her up.

The magic was slowly disappearing – Star's green eyes waned and declined, until they were transforming into blue.

It was definitely Star, Marco noted, as his hands violently swiped, accidentally catching her hair, tangled up in them.

Something had freed him from his catatonic… frozen state – and he was too late. Star was shifting, her brown hair burning off, as it slowly became blonde, travelling from the bottom to the top.

"No… no…" the magic had worn off her, finally, and she _knew_ Ludo had something to do with it.

His hands shot out of her hair after a minute or so, and Ludo seemed to smirk.

"You have to help-" Star was cut off by Buff Frog throwing a knife in her direction – which rammed into her arm, and she screamed in pain, slowly sinking to the floor.

**Xxx  
Mewni Well, Mewni  
**She was there, folding her arms as she stood by the well, trying to decide whether she could do it or not, reflecting on the problems she had suddenly faced.

Why did _he_ get to go to Earth? Why did _he_ have his own dimensional scissors? Why did _he_ expect so much from her? Why was _he_ taken seriously by Ludo? Why did _he_ have his own powerful magic?

She was queen – meaning she was powerful. All she needed was the well, and for her anger to suddenly well up inside her. It was simple – she wanted to soothe herself, convince herself she was more powerful than she kept thinking.

No – she wasn't, without the well. Her daughter was gallivanting in a different dimension, her husband wouldn't even accept her decision to send Star to St Olga's, and then _he_ had come, offering to help her daughter.

Her main issue was how nobody took her seriously.

The well would rectify that.

A voice was nagging her, mentally to not try and suck a bit of magic from the well.

But it was too late – her fingers extended in the direction of the well, and connected with it for just a second.

Before a force threw her back, and as she slowly rose from the ground, unhurt, but slightly dazed, she tried hobbling towards it once more. Her hands were caressing her back, and she was reaching out for it again.

But as her fingers touched it, she froze for a second – her eyes flitting, as she saw the glitter showing up on her face.

The glitter vanished almost instantly, and she jerked her hand away violently, as if she had been burnt. But her fate was sealed, anyway.

An imaginary force swallowed her whole, and she hitched back, plummeting into the well.

**A/N: That wraps up Part 1! R &amp; R!**


	6. Liars (Part 2)

**Earth  
**Star's hands curled around her wand once more, as she reached up limply for Marco, who dived to her side, and struggled to help her up – instead, he found himself struggling with his internal thoughts on Ruby/Star. The confusion was too much for him.

As she felt for her arm, seeing the blood drip off it, and stain the floor gently, she hissed again in pain and turned to look at Marco, whose eyes were suddenly cloudy with confusion: she hated to think it, but he wouldn't forgive her.

She'd lied to him.

Buff Frog was getting closer, wielding an axe this time, as he slowly moved towards her, looming over her weakened figure – she accepted the fate of herself, and slowly put down her wand, the strength disappearing.

Until Buff Frog was sent backwards, reeling as he clenched his nose, and her closed eyes opened to the sound of a whack – Marco stood in front of her, swinging at Buff Frog. And suddenly, the older days of her happiness seemed to reopen themselves – as she found Marco… again.

"Ruby… I mean, Star… go for the one on the left. I've got this one… covered." He was stammering, but the strength in his eyes was enough to convince Star – clutching her wound, she staggered towards the minion.

Barely able to keep her arms straight, she shouted a spell, as snakes flew from her wand and wrapped around the minion, choking the life from him – as he collapsed to the ground, Marco too was winning his own battle.

It was their fight, he thought, as he suddenly jumped upwards, violently lashing out with all his strength to send a kick to the face of Buff Frog.

Despite the blood smears from his nose, and his limping, weakened gait, Buff Frog suddenly brought his axe down – and the screams of grief were above all else that day. Marco's arm seemed to disappear for a second, until the world froze.

Only Star was moving, and she saw Marco's frozen face of horror – Ludo throwing his head back, about to release an almighty cackle, and Buff Frog's axe connecting with the arm of Marco – she could even see the frozen red liquid.

Tears streamed down her face once more, unstoppable torrents as she struggled to hold them, her breath hot gasps caught in her throat, as she saw the true consequences reflected in her bright eyes, sparkling from their fresh tears.

Time restarted, and Marco's face of horror curled into a spasm of pain rippling across his face – until his arm spontaneously combusted in a flash of light, and Buff Frog swung once more, for his neck – and Star realised the blood wasn't Marco's.

It was Buff Frog's.

She pushed aside the other minions, who were filing back into the portal, one of them laughing uncontrollably, as Buff Frog heaved, struggling to breathe, whilst Marco lay on the floor, his eyes shut tightly.

Uncomfortably tightly, much to her horror – as Buff Frog brought his axe down once more, she dove for Marco, and pushed his head aside, letting his axe bite into the ground. Huffing, he tried to yank it out of the ground, but found his strength warping.

Star's wand flickered once more, and the magic seemed to drain – what remained of her brown hair dissipated into blonde, and her eyes flickered into the bluest of blue – but Marco's arm was now a stump.

Buff Frog, having forced his axe out of the ground, seemed to burst into light in a single, hideous scream, as his legs were forced to buckle from under his body, he seemed to fall, before finally disappearing.

"Marco?" Star wept, gently slapping his face to attempt to wake him up – there was no blood, just a stump where she had remembered the monster arm. She had little clue over whether the axe was magic, or the monster arm had interfered.

"My arm…" he suddenly called out, "he hit my arm. Is it… mangled?" He tried to lift his stump arm, but found his strength to be dangerously low.

"Man…gled… no, Marco. I-It's…" She didn't know what to say, and found herself bursting into tears – what solution did she have? How could she make him happy again?

"It's…?" He seemed slightly more impatient.

"G-gone," she choked out the words as she sobbed, "I'm sorry, Marco!" not even giving him a chance to vent – his angry words terrified her, and she hoped for forgiveness.

"My arm. You… he… I knew this would…" He bites his lip, and struggles to crawl up to the surface – he just wanted to lie down and forget that he was even alive. Like Star had tried. But look what it had done to him. It was no good.

"It's… I can find a spell. I'm sure. A-and then you can have your arm back."

Marco groaned. "Star, it's not that my arm… well… it's not great losing an arm, b-but... you lied, and then nearly got yourself killed. Why would you…? And my arm?"

"Your arm…" Star didn't know how to respond – she wouldn't find the spell for a while, much to her sadness. She straightened up, and suddenly hugged Marco, who struggled to return it.

"I owe you so much. You didn't get too mad when I… lied. And then your arm. I don't deserve you, Marco."

_Deserve?_ He quietly wondered, still dwelling on what remained of his arm. "You didn't mean to…" He cut himself off, when he realised how awful the situation was. Something was making him struggle to keep his cool.

And soon he lost it completely, as he coldly detached from Star's hug. He was scared – the axe had barely missed his head – in fact, he felt as if he hadn't tried to avoid it – his life was going to end if he kept...

But Star's life would also end if he abandoned her. Marco hated to say it, but he needed time to think. Think about his friendship with Star.

_I'm scared of what a friend could do to me. Maybe we just weren't made to be friends._ He thought, as he slowly retreated from Star, who seemed crestfallen.

"I know-"  
"You don't, though," He suddenly said, sick of trying so hard to be nice, "you have no idea what it's like to lose a limb. Maybe… maybe we can't be friends anymore, Star. All you do is put me in danger."

"But you said you liked-"  
"Would _you_ be happy if your arm was cut off?" He suddenly accused her, having stepped forward, he swiftly took her shoulders in one sweep of his hands, and was digging his nails into them.

She winced in pain and slowly shook his head – seeing the wild look darting in Marco's eyes. He seemed irritated, and unhinged – something she preferred not to trifle with.

"I-I… Sorry. Very…" She was uttering nonsense now, unsure how to accept him trying to break off their friendship.

Maybe he was right, and it was for the best.

Marco suddenly let his hands fall to his sides, and pulling his hoodie over his head, he shuffled out of the building through the backdoor, leaving Star's heart broken, and the remains of the battle.

He lost his arm.

She lost a friend.

_You're Ruby. Popular, cool, awesome Ruby. You can make new friends. Lots of them, too._

But her craving for Marco had yet to be soothed.

**Xxx  
Mewni Palace, Mewni  
**Despite the silk and furs on the wall, the king remained unhappy – he was growing in fear for the life of his wife, who had been reported missing for a few days, now. He pondered who she had been speaking to, and the gender of Star's 'Earth guide.'

Perhaps she was having an affair. It occurred to him immediately, but he brushed the thought aside – that was impossible: she was bound to him, and he knew it was ridiculously out of character. All he knew was that it had something to do with Star.

Could he send someone to Earth? He was trying to balance two priorities – and he had no clue which to sort first. His wife, or his daughter – the two most important women in his life.

He calls for his adviser, having instantly decided how to sort out Star. Star simply couldn't be tolerated – she was stirring up trouble on Earth, his wife had suggested – and he knew his wife's patience was wearing thin.

His eyes swivelled around the room, stopping on the torn family portrait. There was nothing to it – Star had to join Pony Head in St. Olga's. Otherwise she would destroy herself, and what was left of their family: she was too dangerous.

His adviser steps into the room, and blinks at him, waiting for his proposal.

"I've decided to send Star to St. Olga's. Perhaps you could suggest anyone who travels through dimensions to retrieve her?"

**Xxx  
Mewni Well, Mewni  
**She continued to fall, screaming as she landed quite suddenly, on a pile of glitter – something cracked as she landed, and she found herself unable to shift her poor legs, that felt like they were being crushed by weights.

Struggling to move, she managed to sit up with an excruciating pain shooting through her body, from her head to her toes, sharp, stinging little pokes and prods to her already aching body.

Having fallen, she painfully lifted her head, and peered at the top of the well – she was so far down, she realised, she couldn't see it. And her jealous rage was a distant memory – she was more ashamed that she had felt powerless.

As she knew she never was. Then, she thought of how much she had tolerated with Star – and the fact she was gallivanting in another dimension was enough. She had to go to St. Olga's. Her husband's thoughts didn't matter anymore to her – she knew it was for Star's safety.

When she got out of the well.

**Xxx  
Ludo's Lair  
**"Excellent, Buff Frog. You've created quite a divide between Star and her companion. Now, she is unguarded – our next attack…"

"Sir…?"

"No interruptions!" He squawked at Buff Frog, who seemed slightly anxious.

"Mr Leon has finally been corrupted." He quickly said.

"Ah. Excellent – then we can corrupt Mewni. Send out Dolphin. Let him travel to Mewni's well – and make sure the well's connection to Star's wand is severed. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Well… her parents want to send her to St Olga's. They think it isn't safe for her because… Earth has these people called bullies. Her mother said that her letters back home had been negative – then suddenly stopped. Or… her father, anyway. The mother's supposedly missing."

"One parent down, one to go. Summon Mr Leon for me – I want him to help me take care of Mr Butterfly."

"Yes, Sir."

_Good frog,_ Ludo thought to himself, as he pressed his fingers closer together, applying more pressure until he heard them crick, as if he wanted them to bind into one.

**A/N: R &amp; R. If you have any suggestions for chapters/questions, just PM me!**

**~Adelost**


	7. Power's End

**A/N: Phew. After a LONG hiatus (wow, writer's block) I've finally updated. Sorry for the long wait. Here is the next chapter:**

**Mewni Centre, Mewni**

Mr Leon stood outside, in Mewni, having taken the form of the Queen. He couldn't quite believe the heavy amount of makeup on his face, nor the ridiculous way his hair was up - or the clear white dye. His hair was itchy, too.

He yanked at it, then dusted himself off irritably, proceeding to step forward, into the town centre. Nobody even noticed him - everyone was wrapped up in the concept of the missing queen, that they didn't realise she was alive and well.

Er. Or rather, he was.

Eventually, he stopped in front of Mewni Palace and grinned to himself, rapping on the door - his knuckles were sore, but he greeted the guard at the door with a stern look, bobbing a curtsey respectfully in case he wasn't a guard.

"Your Grace." He says, surprise twinkling in his eyes briefly - he concealed any sign of emotion instantly, reaching out for her. Then he guided her into the beauty that was Mewni Palace - it suddenly occurred to the guard that she seemed quieter, and stiffer.

The King slowly rose from his seat as she, no, he, stood in front of him, bobbing a curtsey. Something mashed up inside of him, as he suddenly burst into tears. At once, someone appeared from the door and tottered into the room.

Quietly comforting him, whilst dabbing at the king's eyes with a tissue, the man retreated to the door and disappeared through it with the soiled tissues. Nothing more was uttered - the room was hushed as the king dashed towards his queen.

And gripped her. Tightly. Mr Leon grunted a little, a strangled noise coming out from his mouth that the king barely noticed. Fixing up his crown and hair, resisting the urge to scratch his hair again, Mr Leon eventually pulled out of the hug.

He smelt tears and sweat on the king, and suddenly found that he felt miserable. "Star." It was one syllable that he exaggerated, to the point where he choked out the words. And the King understood her… him… instantly.

Mr Leon was still confused, as he could feel the emotions swimming in his vision, and somehow, wherever the queen was, she was influencing her. Him.

He kept forgetting who he was.

"Star indeed." He whispers back, his voice low and husky.

Then he gestures to his court, and the guards lead the two back to their private chambers - the doors are guarded tightly, and Mr Leon's heart is broken further by the horror of this. Because he knew… what he had to do.

It was for Ludo, he tried to justify it to himself - and was soon brought back to Mewni, by the king's voice. The look in his eyes was distant and lacking, and he could barely focus on the king, but managed to half-heartedly lean forward.

Her… his lips rested on the king's cheek, who smiled to himself sadly - because the look was still there, ever present in his… her eyes.

When his lips connect with the king's cheek, Mr Leon flees, but the Queen's body remains.

And he suddenly cries. It's a high pitched mewl at first, that turns into full out bawling - his face is ugly, his makeup ruined… and her eyes watery and eyelashes spiky. The air was thick with his sadness, that he felt cloud over the king, and seemed to flow through the window.

The _closed_ window.

He looks over to the window to see the misty-like substance drifting through the air - the queen was in the well.

_The queen is in the well. _He continued to remind himself this, repeating it like a mantra. Then he was interrupted as the king wraps his arms around her.

Him.

The king wraps his arms around him in a tight embrace, and whispers _my sweet queen, dear queen, my lovely, kindhearted queen, beautiful queen, my fair lady, my lady._ It's just babble that makes Mr Leon cry harder.

Then he finally does what Ludo told him. Falling onto the bed, with the king next to him, their eyes communicate wordlessly - nothing can be heard from the quiet, closed windows, none of the guards cough, sniffle, nothing.

Mr Leon is running inside his mind - he wasn't even there - as if his eyes had rolled out of his head, replaced by _her_ feminine, beautiful eyes with long eyelashes.

His lips puckered for a second in a pouty fashion, then he lay on his side next to the king, his eyes locking onto the king's face and all the features she loved.

He loved.

_Loved_, Mr Leon thinks again, tears still spilling from his eyes. He then takes the blade out of his pocket and encases the king's neck in his hands. With the same blade, he holds it to his throat, and all the glass in the world shatters as the king speaks.

"What…"

His words turn to a grunt of pain, interrupted as the blade swipes across his neck in a downwards slant. She slashes at his throat again, watching the blood drip out onto the sheets, and the king's dying eyes lock into his.

He slashes. Mr Leon was forgetting who he was. Or the queen…

He's crying more than ever now, his tears mixing with the blood of the king - the sheets, gorgeous, velvet-like things are hideous now. The king gurgles and fights for his life, hands at his neck and his eyes wide on Mr Leon.

Mr Leon wipes his eyes and whispers back:

_IamsorryIamsorryIamsorry._

His words are just running together, quiet little phrases that mean nothing to the king. His eyes go dead, lifeless, and fix themselves on the queen. His movement stills and the blood continues pooling out of his throat.

Reaching for his clothing, his coats, Mr Leon takes the blade and wipes it - the blood spills all over his clothing, staining it with little blots. Finally, Mr Leon shapeshifts back into himself, the process painful.

His clothes are bloodstained, his hair in a tight bun. The dark, short curls are tied back with a scrap of lace - rather dirty looking lace. Opening the king's cupboard, he snatches up a shirt and a pair of trousers.

Ones that look ordinary. And changes into them in front of the king's leering corpse.

Now the Queen flees, and Mr Leon remains.

**Xxx**

**Earth, Diaz Home**

Marco had finally limped home - his parents had assumed he was late from the Fayre, and were absent, as usual. Turning his key in the lock, he heard his parents shout his name and lamely replied back.

Slumping against the door, he started to cry the same way Mr Leon had in Mewni. Nothing - he glanced over at his arm hopefully, but saw nothing there - just a stump, where blood had once oozed out. He stopped crying.

Wiped his eyes and continued up the stairs, to his room, where he suddenly felt the full effect of his missing arm. He collapsed onto his bed, feeling his phantom limb twitch uncomfortably. That was the last thing he felt.

His eyes went wide and he lay flat on his back, glancing up at the ceiling - and stopped moving from that moment.

Even when his mother walked in to wish him a good night, she found her son unresponsive and still. Cold, like a body - and suddenly thought about what Marco said about Star.

Her fingers were on her phone, dialling for the emergency services, sobbing her words unclearly on the phone as she looked over her son, who still hadn't moved a muscle. The people on the other side of the line were silent, trying to listen.

By that time, her husband had found Marco and was just trying to look at him - whether he was real, or just a wax figure of himself. His hands lingered on Marco's stomach, and the two exchanged a look of confusion as their eyes stopped on the missing limb.

"We'll be down here in ten minutes, no more, no less." A voice over the phone announced. Mrs Diaz held the phone tighter.

Then there was a click, and the line went dead.

**Xxx  
Ludo's Lair**

"Well, Buff Frog, what did Mr Leon do?"

Buff Frog, having put away his binoculars, nodded at Ludo, whose smirk had suddenly gone malicious.

"He killed the king." He licked his lips, as if any of the traces of the king's blood remained on them.

"So then we invade Mewni. The people are fools and will write Star to come. She'll fall right into her trap and lose her wand."

"And if the people revolt or fight back…?" Buff Frog's words escaped his mouth before he could stop them - but Ludo's gleaming eyes seemed much too interested in the idea of shedding blood. He exhaled in relief.

"If they _try_ to revolt or fight back, then we will burn them to the ground. Along with Mewni."

"Tell Dolphin to come back. The queen should be dead within a few days."

"Why not just kill her?" Buff Frog asked curiously.

"Dying of starvation is much more painful."

**A/N: Hopefully that wasn't too confusing (the bits with Mr Leon). It was only explained in the first few chapters that 'Mr Leon' has empathy as a power, and can control emotion - thus the queen's sadness (because she can't see her husband or daughter) travels to him, and he questions his own identity because her emotions are so powerful.**

**Note: The queen's not dead, so she can continue to project emotion and affect Mr Leon.**


	8. Tirelessly Malicious

**A/N: It's exam season, unfortunately, so this will probably be one of my final updates for some of this summer. Apart from that, I have a warning about swearing. There will be quite a bit of it in this chapter... from Marco.**

**Earth, Juvenile Health Centre**

Doctors had carefully studied Marco, who they had at first, presumed dead, but eventually sent out a man to quietly admit to his parents that he was not dead, but in a catatonic state. And that much power would be required to take him out of it.

Medications, all sorts, were lined up on a tray for Marco, who was carefully laid out on a bed - and his parents had been forced to wait - the doctors hadn't asked about Marco's missing arm, but rather, gave each other strange looks.

Eventually, an answer was reached, as a doctor stepped out and explained the entire situation to the Diaz family. "Your son is in a catatonic state…" His tone seemed clipped and nasal, but he was actually concealing his sadness.

Mrs Diaz sobbed into the shoulder of Mr Diaz, who seemed to be struggling not to whisper to or console her - and gave the doctor a stony look. His look was not well received, but he was only trying to avoid crying.

"And… we'll have to transfer him, I'm afraid." He finished, twiddling his thumbs anxiously, waiting for an outburst from either parent.

Mrs Diaz ceased her sobbing and started breathing, choking as she managed to stop crying - Mr Diaz gritted his teeth and nodded, but there was an obvious uneasy feeling in the air. Nobody would point out tactfully what it was, but it was still present.

"You do… what you think will help… will help… him." Mrs Diaz's voice wobbled, and the doctor's jaw clenched - he didn't want to see or hear her cry, and he knew it himself. He thanked her politely and spun on his heel, disappearing back into a room.

Marco was being removed from the normal hospital, and being placed in an institution - the doctors had predicted that he would surely wake up in a few hours, but still needed to be observed from time to time.

Of course, the place they were… well… putting him in, hadn't the best of reviews. Nonetheless, it was one of the few institutions available.

The doctors were quietly discussing the case after Marco had been taken away, clearly confused over the sudden event. "His visits to us were rather infrequent." One of them pointed out, seemingly confused.

"Indeed. A traumatic event must've occurred and sent him into a catatonic state."

"PTSD?" The first doctor was questioning.

"We know nothing yet. No need to form assumptions." The second doctor was clearly uninterested in the topic, much to the irritation of the second doctor.

He huffed and rolled his eyes. "I was simply curious. This _is_ a bizarre case."

"Most of our cases are, yet you focus on this one solely." He quipped, turning so his back faced the man - and walked away.

**Xxx**

**Mewni, Mewni Centre**

Fire blasted and blazed throughout the town centre, scaring off the hundreds of citizens that were running from the crumbling buildings. Ludo was laughing, shouting commands to his minions that were butchering children.

One woman screamed as a child was ripped from her arms and the child's wails of agony were abruptly cut off as soon as Buff Frog swung his axe. It caught the child on the head, biting into it, and blood splattered the floor.

Knowing her child wasn't coming back to her, the woman screamed again and sprinted off, before Ludo could catch her. Around Ludo, Mewni was beginning to fall apart - he gestured for Dolphin and Mr Leon to kill the Mewni guards, and they disappeared to the left.

What the guards were attempting to do was save the innocent people who hadn't been captured - in fact, one of them was lying on the floor, trampled to death by the people who he was trying to save. Mr Leon could hear the queen's voice in his head, and bit his lip.

Then he spawned a weapon and heard her voice pierce his mind once more. The mace hit the earth beneath him with a clunk, and he suddenly blinked at a man holding a sword above his head. "Do it." His voice went from low and masculine to the high pitch of the queen's voice.

_Kill me, why don't you? I killed my husband, didn't I?_

He started to scream, to the point where the man dropped the sword and slipped an arm around him. It was much too late for Mr Leon anyway, who crumpled himself up until he was in a ball, and continued shouting.

Ears covered, what he was shouting was nonsense - but actual phrases in his native tongue, to drive the queen's voice out of his mind.

Slowly but surely, people began to inch away from Mr Leon.

Meanwhile, Dolphin sent another knife into the chest of one of the Mewni guards. He fell with a dull thud, staining the mud beneath him red, and Dolphin moved forward to grab Mr Leon.

Before the guard could explain that he was helping Mr Leon, who was tucked into a neater ball and seemed to be rocking himself, the guard felt a knife bury itself into his skull. Blood poured from the wound, and he pitched forward, before dying.

"Mr Leon?" Dolphin asks, curiously.

"_Kill me, why don't you? I killed her husband, didn't I?_" His voice seemed to echo in Dolphin's mind, who dropped him and picked up a heavy stone, overcome by the voice. Something about it was hypnotic and drew him towards it.

That… wasn't his voice. Surely… it couldn't be. But there was only the faint beating of his heart to remind him something was controlling him, and that he was suddenly in shackles he couldn't see.

The most dangerous type.

Just as he was about to strike Mr Leon over the head with the rock, someone yelled out a word that saved his life.

"WE SURRENDER!" The first voice was shrill, yet loud, and soon was joined with the voices of Mewni. They all surrendered rather late, since half the buildings had been torched and the ground was littered with debris.

Ludo grinned and made his minions move the people around, like flocks of sheep. Naturally, they complied and everyone returned to their damaged huts - some people huddled together in ashes, some in half burnt houses.

Nobody's house was safe. In fact, none of them knew what Ludo's next moves would be. All they could think was that if they stayed in their homes, they'd be safe, surely.

Mr Leon glanced into the distance, his eyes sweeping over the destroyed Mewni - somewhere, far away, in the well, the queen was calling for him to help her. And he knew that he must help her, no matter what.

He got up and began to trail away like a zombie, despite Dolphin and Ludo calling him. Even when he was threatened with death by Ludo, he continued shuffling towards the Mewni well. Her voice was much, much louder in his ears than Ludo's or Dolphin's.

**Xxx  
Earth, Juvenile Health Centre**

Star felt completely out of place.

Marco was in there, somewhere, surrounded by strangers. She peeked through the glass doors, but only saw people in white moving about.

It was simple - she had to pretend she was… well… ill, and join him. That was the only way she would actually get into this place.

Never mind getting out - that was for another day.

Marco, meanwhile, on the inside was wordlessly staring into a bowl of soup - not eating, but blinking at everyone who was eating. When one of the staff members came and quietly asked him if he was okay, he gave a grunt of disinterest.

What did it matter? He couldn't help but notice that the staff members were practically isolating themselves from the patients.

Everyone had stared at his arm that he had quickly concealed under the table. With his other arm, he was stirring the soup they had made him. Obviously, nobody seemed to like him, even though he'd been with the others for ten minutes.

Eventually, lunch came to a close, and the "students" were brought to a room where they began to play icebreakers. Although Marco wanted to start screaming and cursing like a sailor, the stone wall enclosed around him further.

Egging others on, the staff members convinced them to reveal their names and other things - but a lack of interest shone in their eyes and they were really waiting for someone to flip out, and the session to end.

_You want me to fucking tell you something about who I am? I'm Marco Diaz, and that stupid bitch Star Butterfly made me lose my arm. Marco Diaz was a normal guy until she entered my life and fucked it up for me. You fucking know what? I don't even care about this - this is major bullshit._

He kept repeating the words in his mind, until a voice snapped him out of it. "Marco? Anything you'd like to share?"

He grits his teeth. "No."

"Laura?" A girl's head bobs up and she glances at the woman with a steely expression, whilst Marco continues fuming inside. He quite liked this Laura's facial expression, but had no intent on letting on what he thought about her.

"No." She answers, clearly fighting to keep her face from contorting in rage.

It was like he'd started a new trend - since nobody had anything to say, the voice continued and droned on for what seemed like hours, and when they could leave, Marco wanted to do a backflip and rejoice.

He filed out with the others, another bored "student," and something about that made him feel relieved. Apart from his missing arm, he was just like everyone else here: _messed up in the head_. But it wasn't like it was _his_ fault.

When someone asked him about his arm, the stone wall was knocked down rather effectively, and he blinked at the person asking, who repeated their question. Battering rams were used, and this question _was_ his battering ram.

He watched the wall shatter around him, barely able to recall the question that had been asked tons of times.

"What happened to your arm?"

He finally hears them, but it's something he didn't want to tell them, as he spun on his heel and walked away. The person followed in hot pursuit, and repeated himself in a more insulting way.

"Did you jack off so much it fell off?" He started laughing at his own dumb joke.

_That doesn't even make sense._ Marco clenched his jaw and felt a tug on his ear from the boy which was enough to make him snap. He was already irritated with how the other patients had perceived him, and now someone was making masturbation jokes about his arm.

Trying to ignore them, he continued walking up the stairs, beginning to break out into a run. But said person was just as fast as he was, and easily caught up to him, repeating the same question like a stuck CD.

_We will __**not**__ be silenced anymore_. Marco thought to himself, as a little warrior started screeching his battle cries inside him.

He pounced on the person, and started beating him until he was bloody and blue. But he wouldn't stop hitting him, his fists catching the boy wherever he could, despite his small pleas for mercy, as Marco reminded himself he wouldn't be silenced.

_My fists are my weapons, my fists are my weapons…_

"You think I'm a fucking freak?" He suddenly screams, as the boy sprawls on the floor in front of him, making Marco send a kick to his ribs.

He doubled up in pain, but Marco was nowhere near finished. He continued to punch, until his knuckles became red with blood, and sent another kick to the boy's ribs. "You think I'm a_ freak_, because I don't have an arm?"

"You… shallow bastard." He snaps, spitting on the boy and bringing his fist down on him again - they continued like that, the boy practically dying under Marco's fists and nobody intervening. Everyone, including Laura, watched silently from all sorts of places.

The stairs, behind him - anywhere. A fight had broken out, and they were curious over how long it'd take for the staff to stop it.

Marco could barely see anyone as one of the nurses spotted him, and called for help. Multiple nurses arrived and tried to drag him off the boy, but Marco was much too determined to come off him so quickly.

The boy rolled away, and rammed into a poorly placed box. His eyes were battered and his skin was decorated with all sorts of bruises that appeared purple under the light. Some nurses crowded him, before carrying him away.

Marco was a stranger to war - yet the boy's body was his battlefield. They managed to pull him away, and Marco suddenly felt the energy drain out of him. Going limp like a doll, he allowed them to pick him up and take him away.

They put him in a padded room.

Another man stopped by and gave Marco some medication, and after that day of being put under observation, he resumed his classes with the other students and seemed to be normal again.

Nobody could quite work out what sparked his rage, but from that day, nobody insulted Marco about his missing arm.

**A/N: Some of the practice in this… er… school is rather rogue. Keep conscious of this - I think I'll be exploring this section of the story. Perhaps this will have a rather chilling end to the first part of the story.**

**Also, the next chapter will definitely include Marco meeting Star in the institution. But will he be happy to see her?**

**(P.S. Sorry for this very… very long A/N).**


End file.
